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Comment by RandomTisk | Hacker News Reader

Funny you mention flat earthers, I think it's because of social media that the number of times they're mentioned dwarfs the actual number of flat earthers alive today by something like a few hundred thousand to one. Just one example where something gets blown way out of proportion.

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I worry that the online coverage of things like flat earthers might feed the phenomenon. I used to think flat earthers was just some internet nonsense and that you'd be hard-pressed to find someone offline who believed that, but then I found out a long-time coworker does. One of my neighbors is also a climate change denier and it took a long time for us to hit that topic, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out more people I know who are like that.

I believe it is the desire for hidden truths, so that one may begin to understand themselves. Mysticism used to play that role for many. "Here is a practice you can do daily to find hidden truths about oneself." But in the modern world, conspiracy theories fill that need.

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/washington-wizards/kyri...

Even if it's a miniscule amount, coupled with antivaxxer's, climate change deniers, etc. leads to pain points in society even having to prove them wrong takes a toll.

Why do you feel compelled to prove flat earthers wrong? Most of them don't even earnestly believe it, but bait people like you into bad faith arguments for sport.

I would assume the same holds true for the AntiVax movements. While I constantly hear about it online, I don't know a single parent with that mindset.

To a lesser extent there’s also an anti multilevel marketing movement.

Groups whose soul purpose is to trash talk something are loathsome, even if the target deserves it.

We know there are plenty of antivaxers because they sign certificates of immunization exemption. Plus we keep track of immunization rates. In WA there are about 4% kindergarten kids with non-medical immunization exemptions [0]. In some communities, like Vashon Island, the exemption rate goes upwards 25% [1], and the non-vaccination rate upwards to 44% of kindergartners in 2012 [2].

[0] https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/Pubs/348-682-SY20...

[1] https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article26252716.ht...

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/health/measles-outbreak-w...

All of the hot-button issues are massively blown out of proportion to the actual numbers. That's the salient thing you start to notice when you start drilling into the facts and disregard the rhetoric. We're wound to 11 at each other's throats fussing about the 0.1% issues.

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